Through Thick and Thin
by Oceanee
Summary: A collection of prompt-based drabbles and ficlets centering on Bleach characters. Various genres and pairings - all listed inside!
1. Prompts

**In this first chapter you can find a list of the drabbles and ficlets that I've posted so far, with a short summary. I figured everyone had different preferences regarding pairings, and I added that to the list so you can skip the ones you don't like!!**

**Disclaimer: **Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo and Jump. Seeing as I'm neither of those, I don't own anything here except the words and plotlines.

**Summary:** A collection of prompt-based ficlets and drabbles centering around Bleach themes and genres, many, many pairings. May or may not contain Yaoi, I'm not sure yet, because as much as I love it, I can't write any without feeling stupid and waay out of my league.

**Warnings: **I should probably also warn you that this is my first attempt at a Bleach fanfic, so, I apologize for any OOC-ness. Also, english is not my native language, mistakes are bound to happen and constructive criticism concerning my use of grammar and phrasing, punctuation, or spelling, or criticism as a rule, really, is welcome! Thanks!!

So, here goes folks, ye be warned. ^^

* * *

**#1 – Estrogen: **Two old friends run into each other on a midnight errand.

Characters: Isshin, Urahara

Pairings: Implied Yoruhara, Isshin/Masaki

**#2 – Snow: **He watched her from afar as she danced. (EDITED)

Characters and pairing: Renji/Rukia

**#3 - Rapture:** He had the most talented fingers (EDITED)

Paring: Yoruichi/Urahara

Warning: Some pretty heavy innuendo

**#4 - Bridges: **Getting to know her would be easier than he had thought

Characters: Byakuya, Rukia. No pairing unless you squint.

**#5 - Coming undone: **She had to get out of there

Pairing: None

Character: Inoue Orihime

Warning: Characters death, blood, and gore

* * *

So far, that's all!


	2. Estrogens

Now regarding this first ficlet, I asked my brother to prompt me, and the only thing his tired, teenage-hormone-addled brain managed to come up with is "estrogens" (complete with snicker and that infuriating now-see-if-this-helps-you cocky expression). Thanks. But it was sort of a challenge and I decided I wouldn't back down from it. Enjoy... ^^

* * *

**# 1 – Estrogens **

**Characters: Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Isshin**

**Pairings: Implied Yoruichi/Urahara, Masaki/Isshin**

* * *

The wind was chilly against his exposed calves, and for the umpteenth time since he had left, Kisuke Urahara cursed his absent-mindedness. Genius as he was, matters of practicality in ordinary, everyday life had always been a foreign concept to his brilliant mind, and he had once again gone out in the middle of a winter night wearing his usual get up, and nothing else.

Really, geta and bare-feet when the air was crisp enough to freeze the ends of his still damp hair were a deadly combination. Possibly literally.

Blowing into his joined hands to try and get some semblance of feeling back in his fingers, he pushed the convenience store's door open with his shoulder and walked in, letting out a sigh of relief as heat washed over his very nearly frost-bitten body.

There were few clients at this time of the night ; mostly, he supposed, young people stopping by on their way back home after an evening out. The store was silent except for the soft, almost muted sound of the radio and the light buzzing of the neon lights. Slightly disappointed that he wouldn't even get the chance to wait in line and enjoy the warmth for a little longer, Kisuke dragged his feet through the aislesand picked up the items he'd crossed half the town to find: milk, yogurt, some cheese, more milk, and, after only a second of hesitation, a can of whipped cream... after all, it _was_ a dairy produce, wasn't it? He'd sure earned some privileges that night... hadn't he?

Well, he thought dreamily, it was well worth trying, anyway.

Moving as slowly as was humanly possible to draw out his stay, he paid for his purchases with his trademark, half-hearted attempt at flirting up (embarrassing) the too-shy-for-her-own-good cashier (who, to his delight, blushed quite an impressive shade as he alluded at the many uses of whipped cream). Then, taking a deep, shuddering breath of warm air, he prepared to walk out and face what, in a moment of cold-induced insanity, he imagined hell would be like when frozen over. _Abandon all hope, ye who, er... go out there._

He had barely turned on his feet when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Cat strayed back home, Urahara-san?"

Startled at finding himself face to face with an overall exhausted-looking Isshin Kurosaki, Kisuke raised an eyebrow. He looked pointedly at the doctor's shopping bag, stuffed full of chocolate bars, various bags of candy, and oddly enough, a few carrots.

"Pregnancy going well, I take it?"

Isshin only sighed, before his face split into what, in the shopkeeper's humble opinion, must have been the stupidest smile ever witnessed on the former captain's features. "Yeah... Four months now. It's a boy."

"Aah, congratulations, Kurosaki-san! Though I do hope the poor lad takes after his mother..."

"Oh ha ha..."

There was a short silence as the two men glanced at the street on the other side of the store's glass doors.

"So," Kurosaki started, "my wife's pregnant and gets these cravings at the oddest times, sending me out at all hours of the day and night, regardless of the weather, to buy her whatever she wants, which I happily do and explains my presence here," he stated, smirking knowingly. "What's your excuse?"

Kisuke looked down at his own shopping bag and scratched the back of his head, disturbing his ever-present hat. "Ah, yes... Yoruichi-san has dropped by for a visit and uh... I think I got blackmailed into feeding her," he replied, a puzzled frown on his face. Yes, blackmail definitely was the word, he decided as he remembered glimpses of dark, smooth skin and not-quite-veiled threats that he wouldn't see or touch another inch of it until he complied. Also, something about a man's duty and keeping a woman happy...

"Ha! That woman has a bottomless pit for a stomach."

That comment earned him another raised eyebrow. "Says the pot about the kettle, or I believe that's more or less how the saying goes..."

Isshin glared in mock affront before lifting and flexing his arm. "Hey, I'm a grown, strong man... I actually need all that food if I want to keep that perfect body of mine healthy and attractive!"

The eyebrow stayed up. Kisuke decided against pointing out that he had originally designed said perfect body himself, and that it would probably stay that way whether or not the man decided to stuff his face at all hours of the day.

The soon-to-be father leaned against the wall, raising his other hand to wave two small metal recipients in front of his old friend's eyes. "I saw you there as I was paying for Masaki's candy, and figured you'd need some warming up before going back."

Urahara, never one to refuse an opportunity when it all but danced in his face, shook his head, his lips stretching into a thankful smile, and grabbed his can of bottled, alcoholic comfort. "Western beer, uh? Interesting choice. Well, I doubt it'll keep me warm all the way home, but looks to me like it's worth trying, isn't it?"

They both set down their bags, and Kisuke mimicked his companion's position, a contemplative look in his eyes as he popped the can open.

"How long is she staying this time?" Isshin asked, before either of them took a sip.

The genius only shrugged. Yoruichi's comings and goings and the reasons behind them was one topic that his ever-expanding intelligence wouldn't ever help him understand. "Long enough, I guess."

That prompted a sigh from his fellow exiled shinigami. "Ah, we're both suckers for beautiful women, aren't we?"

"That we are, my friend, that we are."

"They own us..."

"Absolutely!"

"They just... order us around for no valid reason, sending us out in a cold winter night, and we... wag our tails and obey. Like the overgrown, hormone-ruled, pitiful, loyal little puppies we are."

"Yup!"

There was another short, contemplative silence.

"You love it too, don't you?"

"Every minute..."

Both friends looked at each other like the hopeless fools they really were. Isshin raised his beer, smiling.

"That deserves a toast, I say. So, to your ever-returning stray cat, or to my hormonal, pregnant, but albeit loving wife?"

Kisuke grinned back, raising his own. "I'd say... To estrogens in general, maybe?"

His friend snorted. "Hai, hai... to estrogens."

As the cans clang together, the tired shopkeeper wondered, not for the first time, if women were the one mystery he wouldn't ever decipher, and, on second thought, if he really wanted to.

Some things, he'd learned, were better kept in the dark.

* * *

_The end. _

_I should also probably point out that I do not own the original quote from the Divine Comedy._


	3. Snow

**# 2 – Snow**

**Pairing: Rukia/Renji **

**(edited)  
**

* * *

She was beautiful. That much he could admit to himself after all they'd been through, after an entire life of knowing her. Especially after having secretly worshiped her since she was but a child, a street urchin, all knobbly knees and too big eyes.

She was small, yes, in every way. Barely a woman, with a body of subtle curves and thin limbs. But as he admired her from afar, giving into this rarely enjoyed guilty pleasure, he only saw the way her brow slightly furrowed with concentration, the proud and happy glint in her dark blue eyes and the smile on her face.

The night was reaching its end, and she was training with Sode no Shirayuki, swinging her deceptively delicate-looking blade around herself with long and well-executed moves. The sound of a rare giggle reached his ears as he saw the seemingly never-ending white ribbon softly graze her cheek in a way that made his fingers ache with longing - it had been so long since he last felt the softness of her skin. It left a frozen and shimmering trail of snow dust in its wake, like small glittering stars, iridescent in the light of the dying moon.

For as loud and boisterous as she was everyday, effortlessly delivering kicks and quips at every turn of a conversation, she was silent and dignified when she fought, graceful and precise ; the sounds of her blade, the only ones in an otherwise silent reality, became a melody, arpeggios of a swan's requiem for defeated ennemies.

He watched, mesmerized, as she swirled, swirled like the snow she and her soul slayer created in their dancing. The white and silent curtain surrounded her, its cold and protective embrace shielding her from the outside world, from the early morning's light and the noises of war...

Shielding her from him.

Forever out of his reach, she kept turning, smiling, playing among the millions of snowdrops that were so much like her in his eyes: fascinating, ephemeral and likely to vanish with a mere touch of his rough and blood-stained fingers...

He must have made a noise, or maybe she'd become so attuned to his reiatsu over the years that she'd known of his presence all along, because she suddenly stopped, cheeks flushed with exertion and eyes glowing. She lowered her sword, and for a short moment that could have lasted eons she looked at him, before her lips stretched in a tender smile.

He barely had the time to blush and respond in kind before a strong gust of cold wind rushed through the air and headed straight to her, blowing her hair away from her face and surrounding her with a cloud of glistening beads of ice.

Sode no Shirayuki must have been getting impatient.

The brunette only shrugged apologetically and laughed, before waving and returning to her training.

As he kept on watching, finally deciding against leaving his observation post on top of a rock a little further down the training ground, he smiled.

Forever had never seemed shorter than it did at that moment.

* * *

_The End_


	4. Rapture

**# 3 – Rapture**

**Pairing: Yoruichi/Urahara**

**Warning: Some pretty heavy innuendo here.**

* * *

_Oh yes, yes... just... there. Right there._

Her thoughts were in a whirl, her mind fogged with pleasure under his ministrations. They'd known each other for practically their entire lives, centuries really, and as she tilted her head, she reveled in the fact that he knew exactly where to touch her, where to stroke to drive her mad. And mad she was... She stretched and arched under his talented fingers, struggling to get closer, limbs taut with exertion and teeth almost bared in an effort to stay grounded, to keep from losing what little sanity she had left...

As he changed the angle of his hand, she literally purred from the sensation. _Don't you stop..._

So lost was she in rapture that it took her several moments to register the sound of a bored, and more than a little frustrated voice. "Yoruichi-saaan?"

_Talk about timing, Kisuke... - _"What?" she snapped, more than a little frustrated herself as his fingers stilled.

He looked at her with wide, too-innocent-to-be-honest, eyes. "Don't you think this would be a lot more fun if you - "

"We talked about this, Kisuke," she all but growled.

"But -"

"No buts. Now, please resume, you just broke my concentration."

"It's just -"

"No!"

"You're blowing this way out of proportion! I've paid already! And I'm boooored!"

Narrowed, golden eyes glared at him from above a soft black snout and trembling whiskers. "Should've thought about this the other day when you decided to spike my tea for, and I quote, 'the sake of experimentation', just to 'see how catnip would affect me as a human'. I will _not _switch forms. Now shut up and keep going."

She promptly resumed her previous position, lying on her side, and, with a heart-wrenching sigh, Kisuke Urahara started scratching behind his stubborn lover's ear again.

"Other side please."

"That's so unfair!"

Yoruichi stretched her slender, fur-covered body, and purred. "Karma's a bitch. Get over it."

* * *

_Fin_

_Okay, I had a lot of fun writing this one, hope you enjoy!^^_


	5. Bridges

**# 4 – Bridges**

**Characters: Byakuya, Rukia. No romance unless you squint.**

* * *

The night was young still, and even in the quiet, remote Kuchiki gardens, you could hear the faint and distant sounds of a party going on somewhere near eighth division. The moon was only beginning its monthly course, pale crescent in a sea of blinking stars, and the only real light piercing through the darkness was dimmed and coming from the windows of the master's chambers.

Like every other night since he'd grown old enough to understand the value of silence, Kuchiki Byakuya was walking along the ancient paths through the trees and flowers of his family's estate, finding peace in its soothing familiarity. Everything here was calm and relaxing, a haven in his world where ancestral rules, honor and war always took precedence over the simplest of pleasures. The sakura trees were in full bloom, coating the air with their sweet scent, and for a brief and rare moment, the head of the Kuchiki clan wondered if there was anything in this world important enough right now to take him away from this blissful feeling.

Strolling leisurely around a corner, he passed a beautiful and ever-growing mass of night-blooming jasmine that had been there long before he was even born ; its smell, so reminiscent of countless other moonlit promenades, not all of which were spent alone, sent his mind through the same melancholic memories it recalled every time he ventured on this side of the garden. Memories of easier times, when life didn't seem quite as dull... Lost in bittersweet recollections, he kept walking, his steps guiding him along well-known pathways until he reached the area he had been heading towards since the very beginning.

But, on the bench near the koi pond, half sprawled across the wooden seat with a hand skimming over the water surface as she murmured words only she could hear, sat a familiar figure that he wouldn't have expected to find here in a thousand years. Never before had he encountered anyone walking through the gardens in the middle of the night, let alone his adoptive sister, talking to herself.

* * *

Rukia was starting to understand what her brother found so great about these midnight strolls through the gardens. Every night since she had been adopted into the family, she had heard him or felt his reiatsu pass by the windows of her chambers as he walked further away from the house. Some time ago, after a particularly stressful day, she had felt the need to find some semblance of peace, and taken her sulking to this remote place deep into the trees. There really was something to say about the relaxing effect of sitting near a pond in the moonlight.

She might not have been taking these walks for long, but was quickly getting addicted. Lost in the middle of the estate, far from the manor's stuffing atmosphere, the noises of Seireitei, and the overwhelming pressures of a noble slash shinigami's life, she found that the loneliness she usually cursed wasn't so choking here. It even felt... relaxing. Here, she was free of any and every obligation that had been piled upon her thin shoulders for too long. Hell, the place was so hidden that she could probably take off her yukata and dance naked around the pond without anyone ever knowing.

She wouldn't, of course. But just the knowledge that it could be considered a possibility always made her want to laugh out loud at the exhilarating feeling of freedom it gave her. Not that she would ever tell that to anyone, she didn't fancy dying of mortification.

In the short time she had been coming here, she had gotten sort of attached to the fish ; watching them swim in endless circles was soothing in a way. She couldn't really see their colors, but when the moon was high enough, she could almost make them out. There were countless different patterns on their scales, and she had taken to naming them ; after all, no harm could come from talking to carps, and it was much better than talking to herself.

She was in the process on complimenting a particularly large one when the sound of a throat clearing startled her out of her tirade. She jumped as her heart missed a beat and turned abruptly, very nearly falling from her perch on the wooden bench.

And there, in the faint light, free of his kenseikan and captain attire, stood her brother.

She wasn't used to seeing him dressed this way, almost casually, and she stared at him, blinking. He looked so... human. It only lasted a short moment though, before she caught herself.

In the split second it took her to realize the improper way she was currently slouching over her seat and the undignified picture she must have been making, she jumped to her feet and dropped into a formal bow to hide the flaming cheeks he probably couldn't see anyway, and tried to make herself somewhat presentable.

"Ni... Nii-sama!"

Dying of mortification was sounding more and more appealing at the moment.

* * *

If he had been anyone else, he would probably have laughed at the image she presented. In all the years he had known her, he hadn't believed she could move quite so quickly ; the speed with which she had stood up and bowed was impressive, really, and he didn't need any light to guess the color of her face at the moment.

But as he held back the urge to smirk, he realized that he had probably interrupted her in her own quiet time, and wondered if it wouldn't be better to just continue on his way and leave her to own devices. She was embarrassed enough as it was, and he knew she was never quite at ease in his presence, something he had made sure would remain a fact for the first few decades since the family had adopted her. Keeping his distances, keeping her at arm's length if not further was the wise course of action, he had thought. That way, he wouldn't have to hear her laugh, to see her smile, to watch her do all the things her older sister had forgotten how to do herself when she had abandoned her as an infant.

Leaving her in the background, never directly in his line of vision, had been the only way he had found to tolerate her presence. Memories were traitorous beasts, that ate you from the inside out if you didn't keep them on a tight leash, and Rukia, despite herself, was prompt to make them resurface.

Now though...

Half a century had passed, and in the light of recent events, he was starting to wonder if maybe he hadn't made a mistake. Companionship was a gift he had seldom been granted with in his long life, his arrogance at first and then his fears keeping people at bay, and except for those five blissful years he would never forget, he couldn't recall a time when he hadn't been alone.

What were five years in a death god's life, really...

He had been raised to lead, to be an authority figure and to keep an iron grip on whatever emotion made it past the walls experience had raised around his heart ; he wasn't foolish enough to believe in eternal happiness, really. But sometimes, in his most contemplative moments, when he let himself take a closer look at his own life, he realized with a slight pang in his chest that he missed the presence of another human being by his side. He missed the comfort of having someone understand, and dig deeper under the surface to find the breaches in the smokescreen he showed to the rest of the world.

A pair of redheads had given him an inkling of what he was missing out on, and he couldn't help but wonder... had things been different, maybe he would have... but it was in the past now, and only a fool would linger on thoughts of what might have been.

It wasn't too late, was it?

And so he found himself standing there before his late wife's stuttering sister, the one that had longed for his acceptance for decades and that until recently he hadn't even been able to think about without beating himself up over past mistakes and promises, and he didn't know what to do. Should he leave? Say something? Incline his head and bid her goodnight before going back to his chambers to wonder why he didn't take a step forward and seize this occasion to put a final stop to years of awkwardness and mutual fear?

If there was one thing in the universe Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't good at, it was at making these sorts of decisions.

He had no idea what to say to her, having never been all that interested in what she did, and what little people skills he might have had when he was younger had long ago been drowned under obligations and protocols. For once in his long life, he was completely at a loss.

"Nii-sama? Is everything alright?"

The sound of her concerned voice snapped him out of his musings. She had taken a step forward herself and was watching him warily, as if looking for a sign or a clue as to what he was thinking. Her back was stiff as a board as she obviously struggled to keep a proper posture, and he could almost smell her need to fidget and her urge to cut through the awkward silence. He made his choice.

Bracing himself, he took a silent breath. "Were they responding?"

* * *

Rukia was quite sure she hadn't heard right. She had honestly thought that upon finding her in this part of the gardens, he would just utter a few words of dismissal and leave, or maybe ask that she go back to her bedroom and sleep.

But she would never have expected him to start a conversation. Or was it even what he was doing? What was he talking about? The question made no sense...

There were too many thoughts and questions swirling through her mind to even formulate any, and in her panic that she wouldn't be able to find a suitable answer, her mouth opened on its own accord to utter the only sound it seemed to be able to make in this kind of situation.

"Eh?"

Her brain was too busy trying to process his words to worry about what she must look like.

Byakuya stared at her for a second, before averting his eyes. "The fish... you seemed to be deeply immersed in conversation just a moment ago," he said in his deep, quiet voice.

* * *

It was harder than he thought it would be. He didn't know what possessed him to say such a thing, and it had seemed appropriate for a short, insane second, but now she was only gaping at him, looking for all the world like one of the carps she had been talking to.

It only lasted a moment though, and it wasn't long before her flabbergasted expression relaxed into a small smile, and she shook her head, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I, uh... I was hoping they would, but so far, no such luck," she replied. Her posture had relaxed a little, even if she still seemed on edge. Her fingers were twitching every time she took a breath, and he suddenly felt ashamed. What had he done, all those years?

There was a short silence. He had no idea what to add to this, and was starting to feel out of his league and a little uneasy when she shrugged, a sheepish look on her face, and waved a hand towards the pond. "But... I think they're starting to like me."

And just like that, something, maybe the ice, broke and it didn't seem quite so hard to get to know her anymore. She had thrown him a rope, understanding on some level what he was trying to do, and he decided to grab it, like a drowning man trying to come out of the troubled waters his life had become.

He still didn't know if hers was a companionship he deserved, but his lips stretched into a small, rare smile, and her own widened at the sight of it. Was it that easy, really? To get her to smile the way she did when she was with his lieutenant or their ryoka friends?

"It is getting late," he started, his expression still softened, "would you like for me to walk you back to your chambers?"

She bowed her head, smiling. "I would like that very much, nii-sama."

Maybe it was the night, or the peaceful atmosphere, and maybe tomorrow they would be back to their formal relationship ; but right now, as she took his arm and they both walked back to the house in companionable silence, he thought that mending the bridges she had tried for decades to build between the two of them, only to find her every attempt thwarted by his coldness, would certainly be a long process, but that perhaps, just perhaps, they would enjoy every minute of it.

* * *

_The end._

_I hope it wasn't too OOC!! I can't decide if I like them better as siblings with a strictly brother/sister relationship, or as a pairing. But they fascinate me, so I guess I like both. Take this one the way you want, it isn't meant to really be either... ^^  
_


	6. Coming undone

**Ait, Prompt - Coming undone  
**

**Pairing: None**

**Character: Inoue Orihime**

**Warning: mentions of character deaths, and gore**

* * *

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

No, really.

She had been such a fool...

The atmosphere felt heavy around her frail shoulders. Like a blood-drenched blanket, the eerie silence weighed down on her, clung to her curves, a mournful and sinister lover molding itself into her until she disappeared and could no longer tell where it ended and she began; she was alone, left there on her own to listen to the resounding screams of an abandoned battlefield, unable to tune them out.

How long she had stood there, staring blankly ahead, she couldn't tell. It had been quite some time now since she heard the last pained whimpers coming from the ruined bodies sprawled at her feet. The street was painted red with the blood of slaughtered comrades, lifeless limbs were scattered along the sidewalks, and she couldn't bring herself to move and try to assess the damage.

Her breathing was calm, not a tremble disturbing her immobility; the clothes she had been given in Hueco Mundo were still pristine, and even with her bright orange hair, she stood out like a white flag in the middle of a crimson battleground. It was only fitting, she thought – she had always valued peace above everything else.

For as long as she could remember, she had always loved to play pretend. Pretend she was a princess from a distant land where candy floss would be a breakfast food, pretend she would live happy ever after with her one true love, pretend her family would always around to cherish her, pretend... pretend everything would be alright. Dreams, illusions, were so much a part of who she was that even the powers she had developed at Ichigo's contact had turned out to be the very essence of denial. A blessed gift from the heavens, really. An ability to erase traumatic events with just a few words and a bit of concentration...

But these powers, she didn't deserve to use them. Not anymore. Pretending, it seemed, could only take you so far before reality claimed its rightful place in your world.

And this reality was harsh. Unforgiving.

The good guys had lost the battle, and the princess would remain alone in her tower for all of eternity. However long eternity would turn out to be.

The sun was rapidly setting, casting shadows over what was left of Soul Society's best warriors. From the corner of her eye, she could make out some familiar shapes, a pink scarf here, a white tuft of hair there... but she wouldn't dwell on what it meant. Not now.

She couldn't stay here any longer.

When she finally tried to move, her muscles were stiff from having held her upright for so long. Every movement sent painful jolts through her nerve endings, and she had to hold back a soft hiss. Her feet felt funny, she realised after a few seconds. Cold. Her shoes squeaked with every step she took, but... maybe it would be wiser not to look. She didn't really want to see.

She walked straight ahead, never looking away from the horizon. Vaguely, she was aware that she should do something. There was something only she could do, her subconscious screamed, but somehow, she couldn't remember what it was, or why she should even try to think about it. Her mind was in such a daze, it was no use, really.

She took a few more steps before her foot caught on something on the ground, and she lost her balance. Reflexively bracing her hands in front of her, she gasped when her palms came in contact with something cold and soft. And... wet.

With a dreadful feeling of foreboding, she looked down for the first time since she had been unceremoniously dropped here with a smirk and a wave. It took her a few seconds to process exactly what she was seeing, and when she did...

A small body, dressed in shinigami clothes, lay on its back, its little face stained with blood, sweat, and what must have been tears. What had once been pink hair was now a mass of scarlet strands, soaked with the liquid that was still seeping from the little girl's ears.

With an arm outstretched towards the head of a much taller, dark haired corpse, her hand almost touching the little bells that hung there, Lieutenant Kusajishi Yachiru had fallen.

Memories of the girl's loud and childish attitude flashed through Orihime's mind, and as her brain desperately attempted to reconcile her souvenirs with the image in front of her eyes, her heart rate violently sped up, pumping boiling blood through her veins until everything that made her who and what she was felt like it would burn her from the inside out. The brutal realization that this was all real, that it was really how it would end and that she was probably the only one left standing made her stomach churn and her head spin. It was everywhere: on the walls, on the concrete, around her, above and under her... Reminders that she had made a mistake she could never fix.

When the last threads holding her sanity together came undone, Orihime screamed.

_I reject. _

* * *

Many thanks to Rebecca, for the prompt and for betaing!! You're the best!^^

Well, that was weird. Don't know what came over me... I plead temporary insanity. Anyway, this is, I think, my first attempt at something like this. I've killed characters before, but never with this much detail (and never so many at the same time. I mean, this is practically mass murder). Constructive criticism would be really nice, because I feel like this is missing something and I don't know what... I've been at it for days now and I don't think I can do anything more than this at the moment. So, please, please if you read it, leave a review, even if it's only to tell me you hated it. I'm prepared. ^^


End file.
